You can toss one in your purse and turn it into breakfast in just a couple minutes at your desk at work. You can take it camping. The kids love the flavor variety packs. I get it: there are lots of good reasons to love those boxes of instant oatmeal pouches. But once you learn how to make instant oatmeal yourself, it's easy to decide to stop buying the stuff.
First off, a 10-serving box of instant oatmeal costs around $5, about a dollar more than a 42-ounce container of rolled oats, which is enough for 30 servings of oatmeal. Ok, yes, you'll also have to shell out for whatever sweeteners and spices and mix-ins you want to add, but those are mostly ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, so you're still paying at least triple the amount when you buy instant oatmeal packets rather than make them yourself. Five bucks may not seem like a lot, but it adds up over time.
Money aside, is that powdery fake maple flavoring really doing it for your family? How about real maple sugar, cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg instead? It's all possible when you learn how to make instant oatmeal at home. Here's what to do:
1. Blend Half of Your Oats
Start with quick-cooking oats, which are rolled much thinner than old-fashioned rolled oats. Pulse half the oats very briefly in the blender or food processor just to chop them up a bit—be careful not to grind them into flour! Then toss the chopped-up oats with the reserved unprocessed oats. (Don't have quick-cooking oats? You can use old-fashioned rolled oats, but I found that you need to process the entire amount—not just half— to make it work as instant cereal.)
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
2. Add Dry Flavorings
Once you have your chopped-up oat mixture, you can flavor it to your heart's content—as long as what you're adding is dry. Add a pinch of salt for sure, and perhaps some brown sugar or, better yet, maple sugar. Add some cinnamon or nutmeg and maybe a few handfuls of raisins, dried cranberries, or dehydrated strawberries. Try tossing in chopped pecans, chia seeds, or sliced almonds. You can even add powdered milk if you're going to be making your instant oatmeal somewhere where you won't have access to milk for serving. If you want, you can make a big batch of instant oatmeal mix and portion it out into containers ahead of time so it's at the ready on busy weekday mornings.
3. To Cook, Just Add Boiling Water
To turn your instant oatmeal mix into breakfast, put 1/2 cup of the mix into a bowl, then pour 3/4 cup of boiling water over it, give it a stir, and let it sit for 2 minutes. Then top with butter, milk, sweeteners, and/or fresh fruit as you like.
